Leader: Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-officer of the Federal Security Service, is gravely ill after reportedly investigating the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the journalist who worked to uncover the truth about torture in Chechnya. The Kremlin has denied any involvement. The rest is purely speculation.

Leaders and replies p33

Letters: It is peculiar that while the Guardian regularly raises the need for debate before a decision is taken on the future of Trident, the figure of £20bn was unquestioningly accepted and labelled a "mainstream" estimate in your news report (Blair begins push for Trident replacement, November 17).

Other services

Contact us

We do not publish letters where only an email address is supplied; please include a full postal address, a reference to the article and a daytime telephone number. We may edit letters. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.